NEW YORK — The Small Business Administration (SBA) told CNN Money last week that it has run out of the $375 million Congress provided to help it spur new investment.
The money was used to waive the fees SBA usually charges banks for guaranteeing loans to small businesses, as well as raising the cap on how much of a loan the SBA would guarantee. The stimulus incentives were in place for more than half of the SBA’s 2009 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, but CNN Money reports that the number of bank loans backed by the SBA still fell 36% compared to the previous year.
SBA has asked Congress to extend the stimulus measures through February, CNN Money says. “We are going to continue to work with Congress to appropriate funds to maintain the reduced fees and increased guarantees,” according to agency spokeswoman Hayley Matz.
To allocate the last remaining cash, SBA launched a Recovery Loan Queue last week that allows business owners and the banks processing their loans to check application status online. Any applications that don’t make it through before the money runs out can submit another application for a non-Recovery Act loan.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].